Sale 2455 - Printed & Manuscript Americana, September 28, 2017

FIRST BIBLE PRINTED BY AWOMAN IN AMERICA 47 c   (BIBLE IN ENGLISH.) Thomson, Charles; translator. The Holy Bible, Containing the Old and New Covenant. [252;245;222;240] leaves.4 volumes.8vo,modern calf by the Book Doctor;minor foxing; uncut. Philadelphia: JaneAitken, 1808 [4,000/6,000] “Thomson’s Bible” was the first American translation of the Septuagint into English, as well as the first Bible printed by a woman in America.Thomson, who served as secretary to the Continental Congress from 1774 to 1789, purchased a copy of the Septuagint at auction and spent 20 years constructing this translation.The printer Jane Aitken (1764-1832) inherited her father’s important Philadelphia shop in 1802, and remained an active binder and publisher through 1813. Hills 153;Wright, pages 113-121 (“still valued for its vigor and perspicuity”).